In this week’s video, I show you how to create synthetic wood grain, altogether from scratch, inside Photoshop. If you watch the video—which is is as entertaining as it is educational—you’ll note that I never once mention dekeOnline member henrymatt. And that’s because, miraculous as it may sound, I just so happened to answer his question before he asked it! So please don’t take offense, dekeOnline member henrymatt. I cannot help that my many powers include reading your mind.

If you’ve been following these Deke’s Techniques blog posts for a while, you know my favorite are those that require nothing but Photoshop; that is, Deke takes a mixture of effects, smart objects, filters, and color information, and with no source material whatsoever, creates something that looks like something else. After watching this week’s episode, I know if I were stranded on a desert island (with Photoshop and a power supply for my laptop, of course), I would be able to create 100%-synthetic, natural-looking wood to go with my faux starscape and fake curtains created in previous weeks’ episodes.

The fake woodgrain results from a combination of the Clouds, Emboss, High Pass, and Noise filters; plus an adjustment layer or two and a color overlay effect. After watching this week’s free movie, you will be able to create something like this:

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Deke McClelland

Self-appointed expert on all things graphics and imaging, here to answer your questions and serve your needs. More dekeBio here.